Dragon Panda King's Golden Garden Asian Wok Buffet House and Kitchen
April 10, 2016 1:18 AM Subscribe
Wonkblog analyzed the names of almost every Chinese restaurant in America. As expected, certain words were very commonly used.
Personally, I'm proud to live where the oldest Chinese restaurant has a groaningly non-typical name. And when I grew up in the Van Nuys suburb of L.A., we got our egg foo yung from a take-out-only place a block from the 405 called "Hai Wei".
Personally, I'm proud to live where the oldest Chinese restaurant has a groaningly non-typical name. And when I grew up in the Van Nuys suburb of L.A., we got our egg foo yung from a take-out-only place a block from the 405 called "Hai Wei".
"General Tso's Chicken might be the most popular Chinese dish in the western world" - maybe "the most popular Chinese dish in America", but it doesn't really exist in the UK and I haven't seen it on Chinese menus in Europe to any great extent.
But hey, America might as well be the entirely of the western world based on the way it likes to report on itself.
posted by terretu at 3:14 AM on April 10, 2016 [23 favorites]
But hey, America might as well be the entirely of the western world based on the way it likes to report on itself.
posted by terretu at 3:14 AM on April 10, 2016 [23 favorites]
I first had that reaction, too, but then the population of all of the EU is only a bit greater than the US and a) how ubiquitous are Chinese restaurants in the EU (not just the UK) and b) is there a particular dish that is as widespread?
As you can see from the maps in the article, Chinese restaurants are everywhere in the US -- more than 50,000 of them. Which, as they quote Jennifer 8. Lee, is more than the most popular fast-food chain restaurants combined. And it's almost without exception that very Americanized Chinese cuisine and they do basically all offer General Tso's Chicken. So, yeah, this is a defensible claim. It may not be true, but it's not really a strong example of what you're complaining about.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:52 AM on April 10, 2016 [8 favorites]
As you can see from the maps in the article, Chinese restaurants are everywhere in the US -- more than 50,000 of them. Which, as they quote Jennifer 8. Lee, is more than the most popular fast-food chain restaurants combined. And it's almost without exception that very Americanized Chinese cuisine and they do basically all offer General Tso's Chicken. So, yeah, this is a defensible claim. It may not be true, but it's not really a strong example of what you're complaining about.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:52 AM on April 10, 2016 [8 favorites]
I'm not sure that Yelp really knows what a Chinese restaurant is, since it returned the names Hibachi, Sushi, and Thai.
I would, however like to visit Super Good Yummy Tasty Ho.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:52 AM on April 10, 2016 [11 favorites]
I would, however like to visit Super Good Yummy Tasty Ho.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:52 AM on April 10, 2016 [11 favorites]
I have eaten at Viking Buffet Chinese Smorgasbord.
Doing so, gentle reader, was a mistake.
posted by sebastienbailard at 3:55 AM on April 10, 2016 [34 favorites]
Doing so, gentle reader, was a mistake.
posted by sebastienbailard at 3:55 AM on April 10, 2016 [34 favorites]
Quoting myself: "but then the population of all of the EU is only a bit greater than the US..."
Okay, that was egregiously dumb. 500 million compared to 300 million is much, much bigger. Even so, I feel sure that Chinese restaurants aren't as common throughout the EU as they are in the US (and Canada! It's ironic that you would just elide Canada in your comment).
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:56 AM on April 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
Okay, that was egregiously dumb. 500 million compared to 300 million is much, much bigger. Even so, I feel sure that Chinese restaurants aren't as common throughout the EU as they are in the US (and Canada! It's ironic that you would just elide Canada in your comment).
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:56 AM on April 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
I wouldn't know. I have two "Japanese" restaurants that are really Chinese (one of which used to be named Nanking during most of my life) and two Chinese-managed bars in a radius of one block from my home.
posted by sukeban at 4:18 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sukeban at 4:18 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
American newspaper reports on America. Shocking!
posted by waitingtoderail at 4:28 AM on April 10, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by waitingtoderail at 4:28 AM on April 10, 2016 [7 favorites]
But hey, America might as well be the entirely of the western world based on the way it likes to report on itself.
I find that compared to American Chinese restaurants, the EU ones are salty.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:31 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
I find that compared to American Chinese restaurants, the EU ones are salty.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:31 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
Here in Rome Chinese has been pretty ubiquitous since I first arrived here 18 years ago; now with the exploding popularity of sushi as of a few years ago, they all pretty much offer sushi too. Never seen General Tso's chicken though.
My old favorite Chinese place here, which has unfortunately closed, was called Wong Ho. Best. Name. Ever.
posted by romakimmy at 4:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
My old favorite Chinese place here, which has unfortunately closed, was called Wong Ho. Best. Name. Ever.
posted by romakimmy at 4:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Well, London has Lee Ho Fook.
posted by Bruce H. at 4:58 AM on April 10, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by Bruce H. at 4:58 AM on April 10, 2016 [11 favorites]
Our local, very good Chinese Restaurant is simply "Chef Jon's". But it used to be Lotus House.
posted by mermayd at 5:04 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by mermayd at 5:04 AM on April 10, 2016
The Search for General Tso is on Netflix and clears up many mysteries.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:08 AM on April 10, 2016 [15 favorites]
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:08 AM on April 10, 2016 [15 favorites]
I do like that there is a Yen's Gourmet and a Yen's Chinese in Pittsburgh.
posted by Alison at 5:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Alison at 5:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
It struck me that I couldn't remember going to a Chinese restaurant or takeaway in the UK with Panda in the title, going through the first 100 hits on google maps for the UK gives Dragon a lot, water or garden a few times, but no Panda. Kind of interesting how a word might become ubiquitously associated with the cuisine in one place and not the other.
posted by biffa at 5:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by biffa at 5:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'd bet that a lot of the Panda names in the US trace back to the hype about the pandas that Nixon brought back from China in 1972.
posted by octothorpe at 5:26 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:26 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
Most all of the Chinese restaurants in UK were set up by immigrants from Hong Kong (more specifically, the New Territories). Pre-handover and post-handover (since July 1997), there was and still is a complete absence of pandas but a surfeit of dragons and gardens on Hong Kong island, Kowloon, and the NTs.
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:31 AM on April 10, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:31 AM on April 10, 2016 [5 favorites]
I've seen Chinese restaurants all over Europe including ones in small Greek or Portuguese towns, but I've never seen General Tso's chicken.
posted by Segundus at 5:33 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by Segundus at 5:33 AM on April 10, 2016
My favorite Chinese take out restaurant names locally are "No. 1 Chinese Restaurant" (in the old Jack In The Box) and "New #1Chinese Restaurant" just down the street.
posted by KingEdRa at 5:36 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by KingEdRa at 5:36 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
Here's some info for the UK (includes Indian restaurants and takeaways as well)
posted by pipeski at 5:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 5:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best. Name. Ever.
Somewhere I have a picture of a New York City restaurant named New Big Wang. Will try to find.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Somewhere I have a picture of a New York City restaurant named New Big Wang. Will try to find.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
New Big Wang. Now closed, apparently.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:06 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:06 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Unless you’re smack in the middle of that Chinese food desert running from North Dakota to West Texas
What's up with that, I wonder?
posted by a lungful of dragon at 6:11 AM on April 10, 2016
What's up with that, I wonder?
posted by a lungful of dragon at 6:11 AM on April 10, 2016
sebastienbailard -
As I learned the other day, 'viking' is just another word for excellence.
posted by Cassettevetes at 6:27 AM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
As I learned the other day, 'viking' is just another word for excellence.
posted by Cassettevetes at 6:27 AM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'd bet that a lot of the Panda names in the US trace back to the hype about the pandas that Nixon brought back from China in 1972.
posted by octothorpe at 8:26 AM on April 10
The long-standing popularity of "Hunan" restaurant names probably does. <apocrypha warning>My unreliable understanding is that when Nixon went to China and ate at state banquets, whenever he found something he liked he'd ask Mao Zedong what it was. Mao (who was born a peasant in Hunan) would tell him, in the spirit of hometown boosterism, that it was a Hunan delicacy. So Nixon came back singing the praises of Hunan cuisine, and any new Chinese restaurant that opened in the US found a marketing advantage in calling itself Hunan.</apocrypha>
Of course, what they served had very little resemblance to real Hunan food, which is glorious stuff, but tends to the lethally spicy and would not have gone down well. My late father-in-law was a university professor in Beijing who was once invited to spend a semester teaching in Hunan. It was a train journey of several days to get to Changsha, and the dining car on the train only served Hunan food, cooked in iron woks that were stained bright red from all the chili oil they'd absorbed. By the time he arrived, he'd completely lost his voice, and for the first few days of class had to rely on a combination of gestures and teaching assistants.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 6:28 AM on April 10, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 8:26 AM on April 10
The long-standing popularity of "Hunan" restaurant names probably does. <apocrypha warning>My unreliable understanding is that when Nixon went to China and ate at state banquets, whenever he found something he liked he'd ask Mao Zedong what it was. Mao (who was born a peasant in Hunan) would tell him, in the spirit of hometown boosterism, that it was a Hunan delicacy. So Nixon came back singing the praises of Hunan cuisine, and any new Chinese restaurant that opened in the US found a marketing advantage in calling itself Hunan.</apocrypha>
Of course, what they served had very little resemblance to real Hunan food, which is glorious stuff, but tends to the lethally spicy and would not have gone down well. My late father-in-law was a university professor in Beijing who was once invited to spend a semester teaching in Hunan. It was a train journey of several days to get to Changsha, and the dining car on the train only served Hunan food, cooked in iron woks that were stained bright red from all the chili oil they'd absorbed. By the time he arrived, he'd completely lost his voice, and for the first few days of class had to rely on a combination of gestures and teaching assistants.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 6:28 AM on April 10, 2016 [23 favorites]
There's a really great documentary series aptly named Chinese Restaurants by Canadian film maker Cheuk Kwan being broadcast by Link TV at the moment (viewable on the web at that latter link) that covers Chinese restaurants around the world and other aspects of the Chinese diaspora.
posted by XMLicious at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2016 [8 favorites]
Unless you’re smack in the middle of that Chinese food desert running from North Dakota to West Texas
What's up with that, I wonder?
Cows don't eat much Chinese food.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:33 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
What's up with that, I wonder?
Cows don't eat much Chinese food.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:33 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
McCoy Pauley: that's interesting, Hunan didn't crop up in the UK names I looked at, instead there were a lot of 'Cantonese', which would tend to tie up with what Mister Bijou said above, and also quite a few occurrences of 'Mandarin'.
posted by biffa at 6:41 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by biffa at 6:41 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
And it's almost without exception that very Americanized Chinese cuisine and they do basically all offer General Tso's Chicken.
I didn't know about the non-authenticity of General Tso's Chicken, but it struck me before that Chinese food tastes quite different depending on which country you are in, and they all taste quite different from Chinese food in China. They are all obviously adapted to the local palate. And there is nothing wrong with that at all. The customer is king and it certainly makes sense, from a business perspective, to adapt to your customers. (Incidentally, the strangest adaptation I ever had was in Bolivia.)
But I wonder how this adaptation takes place. Is there something like a primer going around for people who want to open a Chinese restaurant? Maybe something like this (of course in Chinese):
So you want to open a Chinese restaurant? Have you ever heard of General Tso's Chicken? No? Doesn't matter. Just keep in mind that Americans love it. Oh, and by the way, Americans also love fortune cookies and think that they are a Chinese thing. Yeah, hilarious, isn't it? You can order them here... Also, forget about chicken feet and pork intestines. Well, you can include them on your Chinese-only menu for Chinese customers, but your English menu should look something like this: ...
posted by sour cream at 6:44 AM on April 10, 2016 [6 favorites]
I didn't know about the non-authenticity of General Tso's Chicken, but it struck me before that Chinese food tastes quite different depending on which country you are in, and they all taste quite different from Chinese food in China. They are all obviously adapted to the local palate. And there is nothing wrong with that at all. The customer is king and it certainly makes sense, from a business perspective, to adapt to your customers. (Incidentally, the strangest adaptation I ever had was in Bolivia.)
But I wonder how this adaptation takes place. Is there something like a primer going around for people who want to open a Chinese restaurant? Maybe something like this (of course in Chinese):
So you want to open a Chinese restaurant? Have you ever heard of General Tso's Chicken? No? Doesn't matter. Just keep in mind that Americans love it. Oh, and by the way, Americans also love fortune cookies and think that they are a Chinese thing. Yeah, hilarious, isn't it? You can order them here... Also, forget about chicken feet and pork intestines. Well, you can include them on your Chinese-only menu for Chinese customers, but your English menu should look something like this: ...
posted by sour cream at 6:44 AM on April 10, 2016 [6 favorites]
What's up with that, I wonder?
it's the high plains and not too many people live there
posted by pyramid termite at 6:56 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
it's the high plains and not too many people live there
posted by pyramid termite at 6:56 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'd like to see more adopting the hipster naming paradigms of either repeating a word or "x & y", like "East East" or "soy & lotus".
posted by sourwookie at 6:57 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sourwookie at 6:57 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
AND IT IS SO SO SO FUCKING DELICIOUS
I have wondered, with all the Chinese students who come to the US for college & grad school, some percentage have to be curious enough to order off the Americanized menu instead of the secret Chinese menu, and some of those must find things they like.
Do they then go back to China and find themselves craving American-style Chinese food? Is there a big enough market in major cities to support a Chinese-ified American-style Chinese Restaurant, thus bringing things full circle?
posted by fings at 7:01 AM on April 10, 2016 [13 favorites]
I have wondered, with all the Chinese students who come to the US for college & grad school, some percentage have to be curious enough to order off the Americanized menu instead of the secret Chinese menu, and some of those must find things they like.
Do they then go back to China and find themselves craving American-style Chinese food? Is there a big enough market in major cities to support a Chinese-ified American-style Chinese Restaurant, thus bringing things full circle?
posted by fings at 7:01 AM on April 10, 2016 [13 favorites]
While the Panda Garden in north Knoxville has a wholly unremarkable name, their sign is a marvel of cognitive dissonance.
posted by workerant at 7:01 AM on April 10, 2016 [37 favorites]
posted by workerant at 7:01 AM on April 10, 2016 [37 favorites]
I'm not sure that Yelp really knows what a Chinese restaurant is, since it returned the names Hibachi, Sushi, and Thai.
Heh, some of these may be fusion places. I get my General Tso's Tofu, Pad Thai, and Tempura from a place with sushi in the name.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:03 AM on April 10, 2016
Heh, some of these may be fusion places. I get my General Tso's Tofu, Pad Thai, and Tempura from a place with sushi in the name.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:03 AM on April 10, 2016
For years there was a Vietnamese restaurant in Montreal. On one side of the marquee was the name of the restaurant in French, "Chez Les Bridées;" on the other was the English translation of the name, "Home of the Slant Eyes." It was on Ontario street just east of St. Laurent.
posted by Jode at 7:08 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by Jode at 7:08 AM on April 10, 2016
I wish they'd corrected for the presence of chains; Panda Express and PF Chang's are tipping the scales.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I used to live two blocks from the infamous "Poo Ping Thai Chinese Cuisine." It had been closed for a few years when I moved there, and they took the sign down after a windstorm damaged the sign structure. The actual Chinese place nearby was Ming's Chinese Kitchen/Inn, which was literally a mom-n-pop shop and was wildly inconsistent before it closed for good a few years back.
I briefly dated a lady originally from Hong Kong whose parents ran a Chinese restaurant in North Carolina. She said her family just thought of Chinese food as American food.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:23 AM on April 10, 2016
I briefly dated a lady originally from Hong Kong whose parents ran a Chinese restaurant in North Carolina. She said her family just thought of Chinese food as American food.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:23 AM on April 10, 2016
I wish they'd corrected for the presence of chains; Panda Express and PF Chang's are tipping the scales.
My favourite local place is called Dragon Fried Fish on Watervliet Ave in Albany, and it amazes me that people actually stand on line for Chain Food, whose #1 goal is "Don't cause food poisoning", which is an important goal, to be sure but when that's your #1 goal, the end-result leaves much to be desired.
posted by mikelieman at 7:33 AM on April 10, 2016
My favourite local place is called Dragon Fried Fish on Watervliet Ave in Albany, and it amazes me that people actually stand on line for Chain Food, whose #1 goal is "Don't cause food poisoning", which is an important goal, to be sure but when that's your #1 goal, the end-result leaves much to be desired.
posted by mikelieman at 7:33 AM on April 10, 2016
I go to the Wonk site at the Washington paper daily but honestly I could not understand what the point of that "study" was all about till I realized that since Chinese restaurants were far more numerous than all those other fast food franchises, they could not do a study of the franchises since they had their generic names. I will note that there is in my own study very few Chinese eateries, ie restaurants, that are pleasantly decorated but by contrast nearly every Japanese restaurant I have been to is pleasing to the eye.
posted by Postroad at 7:56 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by Postroad at 7:56 AM on April 10, 2016
After having moved across the (US) country, I learned that Chinese food is different for different regions too. Chinese food in Texas seemed to be mostly just the basic Chinese restaurants, always with General Tso's. Atlanta has much more of the Chinese/Thai/Sushi combo restaurants, and who knew that the style could be similar but still so different. It seems to me like they only got part of sour cream's instructions above (seriously, who makes fried rice that's literally just rice and strips of onions?)
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:58 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:58 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Is there something like a primer going around for people who want to open a Chinese restaurant?
Classes, yes. I haven't yet seen The Search for General Tso, so I can't say whether it gets into this, but as I recall there is a chapter on the subject in The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.
posted by Shmuel510 at 8:03 AM on April 10, 2016
Classes, yes. I haven't yet seen The Search for General Tso, so I can't say whether it gets into this, but as I recall there is a chapter on the subject in The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.
posted by Shmuel510 at 8:03 AM on April 10, 2016
They briefly touch on the "how to" aspect in The Search for General Tso's Chicken, but what i recall most about that part was how there's an association (can't remember the name) where they keep a listing of all the open restaurants all over the US so when you go to them to start a new one they'll be like, "there aren't too many in this county yet, this would be a good place for you".
It's a great documentary. I spent a lot of time in China last year but of course didn't think too much about these things until I saw the film.
Also, speaking of "authentic" Chinese I really wish someone would open up a place that makes the Shanghai-style dumplings and then fries the bottoms in oil. It's totally just cheap fast food but it tastes amazing. And why is it nearly impossible to find Hong Kong-style ricepot with the pork chunks in the US. I miss that more than anything.
posted by Doleful Creature at 8:20 AM on April 10, 2016
It's a great documentary. I spent a lot of time in China last year but of course didn't think too much about these things until I saw the film.
Also, speaking of "authentic" Chinese I really wish someone would open up a place that makes the Shanghai-style dumplings and then fries the bottoms in oil. It's totally just cheap fast food but it tastes amazing. And why is it nearly impossible to find Hong Kong-style ricepot with the pork chunks in the US. I miss that more than anything.
posted by Doleful Creature at 8:20 AM on April 10, 2016
it struck me before that Chinese food tastes quite different depending on which country you are in, and they all taste quite different from Chinese food in China. They are all obviously adapted to the local palate.
I once read a post on a Chinese forum (Tianya probably) by a cook who immigrated to America and worked at a small-town Chinese restaurant. He had a number of regulars, who always ordered the same American Chinese dishes and complimented him on how delicious those tasted. The cook appreciated it all, but never understood the appeal of those dishes he'd only learned after coming to America.
One day, a regular asked the cook about his Signature Dish in China and wanted to try it. The cook was ecstatic, thought it was his Babette’s Feast moment. He made one of those ~really Chinese~ dishes with ingredients unfamiliar to most people outside East/Southeast Asia. He was so proud of it!
The regular ate it; then, awkwardly, in the name of honesty and a healthy long-term relationship, was compelled to tell the cook that it sucked. His American Chinese dishes were much better.
The cook went back to making the new dishes of his life, for people who genuinely loved them. On his breaks he'd sit on a stool and stare out the window. Another person with a past. As are we all.
posted by fatehunter at 8:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [23 favorites]
I once read a post on a Chinese forum (Tianya probably) by a cook who immigrated to America and worked at a small-town Chinese restaurant. He had a number of regulars, who always ordered the same American Chinese dishes and complimented him on how delicious those tasted. The cook appreciated it all, but never understood the appeal of those dishes he'd only learned after coming to America.
One day, a regular asked the cook about his Signature Dish in China and wanted to try it. The cook was ecstatic, thought it was his Babette’s Feast moment. He made one of those ~really Chinese~ dishes with ingredients unfamiliar to most people outside East/Southeast Asia. He was so proud of it!
The regular ate it; then, awkwardly, in the name of honesty and a healthy long-term relationship, was compelled to tell the cook that it sucked. His American Chinese dishes were much better.
The cook went back to making the new dishes of his life, for people who genuinely loved them. On his breaks he'd sit on a stool and stare out the window. Another person with a past. As are we all.
posted by fatehunter at 8:20 AM on April 10, 2016 [23 favorites]
Before General Tso Chicken, it was Chop Suey. I wonder what American creation will be the next "Chinese food" hit.
Meanwhile, thank you all for staying out of my favorite dim sum and bao spots.
posted by Kabanos at 8:34 AM on April 10, 2016
Meanwhile, thank you all for staying out of my favorite dim sum and bao spots.
posted by Kabanos at 8:34 AM on April 10, 2016
Do they then go back to China and find themselves craving American-style Chinese food?
There was a This American Life story about Mexican immigrants who had grown up in America but were forced to return to Mexico, and two of them specifically mentioned missing Taco Bell.
posted by dephlogisticated at 8:35 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
There was a This American Life story about Mexican immigrants who had grown up in America but were forced to return to Mexico, and two of them specifically mentioned missing Taco Bell.
posted by dephlogisticated at 8:35 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is an interesting analysis, but fairly rudimentary.
It would be exciting to learn if certain combinations of words tended to cluster together---probably in ways that corresponded to different cuisines or histories. The panda : US :: dragon : UK comparison is an interesting example.
You might therefore approach this sort of analysis statistically by expressing some kind of topic model over distributions of words, the goal being to recover the latent "topics" or clusters associated with restaurants given their names.
In this setting a (hierarchical) Dirichlet process prior may be indicated, and if that's what's selected, then a conventional Monte Carlo method for sampling the posterior distribution over topics, word associations with topics, and topic assignments to restaurant names would be a sensible first technique to try.
This has been a machine learning/stats humour joke.
posted by tss at 8:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [6 favorites]
It would be exciting to learn if certain combinations of words tended to cluster together---probably in ways that corresponded to different cuisines or histories. The panda : US :: dragon : UK comparison is an interesting example.
You might therefore approach this sort of analysis statistically by expressing some kind of topic model over distributions of words, the goal being to recover the latent "topics" or clusters associated with restaurants given their names.
In this setting a (hierarchical) Dirichlet process prior may be indicated, and if that's what's selected, then a conventional Monte Carlo method for sampling the posterior distribution over topics, word associations with topics, and topic assignments to restaurant names would be a sensible first technique to try.
This has been a machine learning/stats humour joke.
posted by tss at 8:39 AM on April 10, 2016 [6 favorites]
One fascinating thing for me in The Search for General Tso was finally answering the question of the origin of the Great Takeout Menu conspiracy, namely, that about 90% of the menus for Chinese takeout in Louisville were the same to an extremely high degree. Like, not just the same items, but the same items in exactly the same order (which, intriguingly, does not seem to be the same as the fixed, rigid orders in other cities). I figured it all came from, like, some sort of Sysco restaurant-in-a-box plan. Which is sort of true, except for the Sysco part; apparently Chinese community groups set up a basic takeout plan and template it up for whoever's opening a restaurant. I get the impression they also make an effort to geographically disperse them too, so there aren't, like, two takeouts within half a mile of each other and poaching each other's customers.
"American Chinese" is one of those wonderful aspects of how every culture seems to develop its own take on "foreign cuisines". One striking thing for me recently was seeing a number of east-Asian dishes (mostly Chinese, some Japanese) on the menu of an Indian restaurant popular with first-generation immigrants. Why have these Chinese dishes at an Indian restaurant? Because transplantees are nostalgic for the Chinese food of their home, of course!
Also, we have nine different takeout places, apparently under separate management, all named "Double Dragon" (OK, I lie. Seven of them are named "Double Dragon". One is named "Double Dragon 2", and one is named "Double Dragon 9".)
posted by jackbishop at 9:00 AM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
"American Chinese" is one of those wonderful aspects of how every culture seems to develop its own take on "foreign cuisines". One striking thing for me recently was seeing a number of east-Asian dishes (mostly Chinese, some Japanese) on the menu of an Indian restaurant popular with first-generation immigrants. Why have these Chinese dishes at an Indian restaurant? Because transplantees are nostalgic for the Chinese food of their home, of course!
Also, we have nine different takeout places, apparently under separate management, all named "Double Dragon" (OK, I lie. Seven of them are named "Double Dragon". One is named "Double Dragon 2", and one is named "Double Dragon 9".)
posted by jackbishop at 9:00 AM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Also, forget about chicken feet and pork intestines. Well, you can include them on your Chinese-only menu for Chinese customers, but your English menu should look something like this: ...
My favorite English-speakers-experimenting-on-the-Chinese-language-menu anecdote remains Bill Gosper's Sweet-and-Sour Bitter Melon story.
posted by delfin at 9:03 AM on April 10, 2016 [7 favorites]
My favorite English-speakers-experimenting-on-the-Chinese-language-menu anecdote remains Bill Gosper's Sweet-and-Sour Bitter Melon story.
posted by delfin at 9:03 AM on April 10, 2016 [7 favorites]
Here in San Francisco, I like the more generically named places called Chinese Food & Donuts. There are quite a few here.
posted by njohnson23 at 9:04 AM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by njohnson23 at 9:04 AM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
I live fairly close to China Town here in Chicago.
Aside from the ubiquitous Chinese Food/ Chop Suey signs. The places we order from go in order.
China Wok, good fresh food, American Chinese all the way. Can't get more generic than that unless see above. Great home made dumplings though.
Golden Gate, I assume it's a San Francisco reference, where "it all started." Same Chinese American, good quality. I should say both these places use fresh button mushrooms instead of canned straw mushrooms, which are really bad.
Chui Quon, American Chinese, but if you look at the chef's specials you'll find more "authentic" ( in quotes because how the hell do I know) dishes like "stir fried pork blood with chive."
Pot Sticker House, apparently very authentic and also accessible to non Chinese folks. Basically an "authentic Chinese menu" for people that aren't Chinese. They also offer have an American style menu for the less adventurous.
All of these restaurants offer General Tso's chicken, which I always thought was like "adult" sweet and sour chicken, for people who don't want to order it.
posted by Max Power at 9:06 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Aside from the ubiquitous Chinese Food/ Chop Suey signs. The places we order from go in order.
China Wok, good fresh food, American Chinese all the way. Can't get more generic than that unless see above. Great home made dumplings though.
Golden Gate, I assume it's a San Francisco reference, where "it all started." Same Chinese American, good quality. I should say both these places use fresh button mushrooms instead of canned straw mushrooms, which are really bad.
Chui Quon, American Chinese, but if you look at the chef's specials you'll find more "authentic" ( in quotes because how the hell do I know) dishes like "stir fried pork blood with chive."
Pot Sticker House, apparently very authentic and also accessible to non Chinese folks. Basically an "authentic Chinese menu" for people that aren't Chinese. They also offer have an American style menu for the less adventurous.
All of these restaurants offer General Tso's chicken, which I always thought was like "adult" sweet and sour chicken, for people who don't want to order it.
posted by Max Power at 9:06 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, we have nine different takeout places, apparently under separate management, all named "Double Dragon" ...
Here in New England, there is what looks like a chain that often goes under the name "China Buffet." I don't think it actually is a chain, but they all have the same furniture, decor, buffets, and menu items.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:09 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Here in New England, there is what looks like a chain that often goes under the name "China Buffet." I don't think it actually is a chain, but they all have the same furniture, decor, buffets, and menu items.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:09 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
When I was an undergrad, there was a Chinese restaurant a few blocks off campus called Yum Yum. It is long gone now, but I wish I had had the presence of mind to photograph the sign to learn what the Chinese script read -- whether it merely called something like "delicious" or there was some repeated character transliterated felicitously.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:25 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:25 AM on April 10, 2016
Anyone wondering about any of the questions raised in this thread should read the excellent The Fortune Cookie Chronicles that Shmuel510 recommends above. It was the basis for the The Search for General Tso documentary others recommended (the author, Jennifer 8. Lee, produced the documentary.
In it you will learn the origins of fortune cookies, chop suey, General Tso's chicken, and other dishes, as well as how the American Chinese restaurant developed over time and how the system operates.
posted by Sangermaine at 9:30 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
In it you will learn the origins of fortune cookies, chop suey, General Tso's chicken, and other dishes, as well as how the American Chinese restaurant developed over time and how the system operates.
posted by Sangermaine at 9:30 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
In DC Chinese takeout counters make the best fried chicken. In fact that's basically all anyone used to get from the Chinese places near me on H st back when H st wasn't a thing.
Are there other cities where that is true? It was relevatory.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:42 AM on April 10, 2016
Are there other cities where that is true? It was relevatory.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:42 AM on April 10, 2016
Is there a big enough market in major cities to support a Chinese-ified American-style Chinese Restaurant, thus bringing things full circle?
There is a restaurant serving American style Chinese food in Shanghai. They are doing quite well. None here in Chengdu that I'm aware of.
posted by Wet Spot at 9:43 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
There is a restaurant serving American style Chinese food in Shanghai. They are doing quite well. None here in Chengdu that I'm aware of.
posted by Wet Spot at 9:43 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Somebody paid them to do this?
posted by IndigoJones at 9:47 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by IndigoJones at 9:47 AM on April 10, 2016
I miss the restaurant we had: Wok 'N Roll.
In other news, I desperately want someone to do something like this for Harlequin romance novels. They all reuse words about cowboy, millionaire, billionaire, Greek, tycoon, princess, pregnant, blah blah blah....I said this to a friend and then she went off and wrote some story with a title throwing in princess, cowboy, pregnant, etc.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:53 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
In other news, I desperately want someone to do something like this for Harlequin romance novels. They all reuse words about cowboy, millionaire, billionaire, Greek, tycoon, princess, pregnant, blah blah blah....I said this to a friend and then she went off and wrote some story with a title throwing in princess, cowboy, pregnant, etc.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:53 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
What's up with that, I wonder?
it's the high plains and not too many people live there
Contrarily, approximately 98% of tiny towns in the Gold Rush areas of California have at least one Chinese restaurant, and often several of them. It's an interesting remnant of the Gold Rush era and its anti-Chinese backlash, and the Transcontinental Railroad construction era and its anti-Chinese backlash, and the exclusion act, etc.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:54 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
it's the high plains and not too many people live there
Contrarily, approximately 98% of tiny towns in the Gold Rush areas of California have at least one Chinese restaurant, and often several of them. It's an interesting remnant of the Gold Rush era and its anti-Chinese backlash, and the Transcontinental Railroad construction era and its anti-Chinese backlash, and the exclusion act, etc.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:54 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
My "favorite" Chinese place is the inexplicably named Famous Cajun Grill in a nearby mall's food court. They serves pretty much the exact same subpar Panda Express type food as the Mandarin Express next to it.
posted by kmz at 9:59 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by kmz at 9:59 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I used to live not far from Gourmet House Of Hong Kong in Phoenix, AZ, which was very very good and I believe fairly authentic. Biggest menu I have ever seen, too. Like, pages and pages. Used to eat there very regularly, gigantic feasts of wonderful food.
Haven't found Chinese (or indeed any other Asian) food worth a damn in Eastern WA. Went to the "best Chinese place in town" once, and it was 1950s Americanized legacy recipes, and nearly inedible.
posted by hippybear at 10:05 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Haven't found Chinese (or indeed any other Asian) food worth a damn in Eastern WA. Went to the "best Chinese place in town" once, and it was 1950s Americanized legacy recipes, and nearly inedible.
posted by hippybear at 10:05 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
In the 70's, Chinese restaurants were rare and exotic places where you went for a special occasion when spending a little more money was in order. At least that's the way it was for my family in San Antonio when I was a kid, anyway. We were in my best friend's mother's car when we passed The Golden Wok, and he asked her "Mom, what's a wok?" Without missing a beat she said "It's what you thwow at a wabbit."
posted by Daddy-O at 10:32 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by Daddy-O at 10:32 AM on April 10, 2016 [9 favorites]
Joe's Noodle House in Rockville is only called "Joe's Noodle House" in English. In Chinese, it is called "Mt. Emei". I'd like to know how common it is for Chinese restaurants to have two names. Joe's is an extremely authentic Szechuan restaurant that serves "bruised intestine soup" and things to scary too be translated into English unless you ask, but it has General Tso's on the menu as well. Bet you've eaten there, Potomac Avenue!
posted by acrasis at 10:34 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by acrasis at 10:34 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also, speaking of "authentic" Chinese I really wish someone would open up a place that makes the Shanghai-style dumplings and then fries the bottoms in oil.
Can't speak to authenticity, but Chen's Shanghai Restaurant, if you're in or near Vancouver. I find them a lot more perilous to eat than the steamed ones, though.
I thought Chinese food was mostly gross growing up; then I learned that my aversion was to the heavily Americanized glop that everyone ate back then and that I'm amazed has survived the culinary renaissance of the late 90s/00s so well. I mean, tastes vary, so you wouldn't expect it to vanish entirely, but with so many other options...
posted by praemunire at 10:41 AM on April 10, 2016
Can't speak to authenticity, but Chen's Shanghai Restaurant, if you're in or near Vancouver. I find them a lot more perilous to eat than the steamed ones, though.
I thought Chinese food was mostly gross growing up; then I learned that my aversion was to the heavily Americanized glop that everyone ate back then and that I'm amazed has survived the culinary renaissance of the late 90s/00s so well. I mean, tastes vary, so you wouldn't expect it to vanish entirely, but with so many other options...
posted by praemunire at 10:41 AM on April 10, 2016
We used to drive past Shang-Chai on the way to my grandparents' house in Flatbush - a kosher Chinese place in a significantly Orthodox neighborhood. I always was curious, but my grandparents didn't keep kosher so we got Chinese takeout from other places instead.
posted by ChuraChura at 10:43 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by ChuraChura at 10:43 AM on April 10, 2016
My local Chinese food place, which I am inordinately fond of but which always makes me groan when I see the sign, is called Chef at Wok.
posted by skycrashesdown at 10:55 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by skycrashesdown at 10:55 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
A young animal only restaurant that serves on planks: Baby On Board
posted by hippybear at 10:58 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 10:58 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Going on for Chinese food in London's Chinatown was a great experience because while many of dishes were the same as what I'm used to in Toronto, the ingredients were a little different. Lots more lamb, and the default stir fry veggies were a different variety.
posted by thecjm at 11:02 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by thecjm at 11:02 AM on April 10, 2016
There is a restaurant serving American style Chinese food in Shanghai. They are doing quite well. None here in Chengdu that I'm aware of.
I like how the menu describes the Tofu Chop Suey. "As Chinese as apple pie."
posted by Drinky Die at 11:29 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I like how the menu describes the Tofu Chop Suey. "As Chinese as apple pie."
posted by Drinky Die at 11:29 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Daddy-O: "In the 70's, Chinese restaurants were rare and exotic places where you went for a special occasion when spending a little more money was in order. At least that's the way it was for my family in San Antonio when I was a kid, anyway. We were in my best friend's mother's car when we passed The Golden Wok, and he asked her "Mom, what's a wok?" Without missing a beat she said "It's what you thwow at a wabbit.""
I guess it depends on where you grew up. The August Tea Room was my family's standard Friday night out when I was a kid in the seventies. It was no more exotic than the Greek diners or pizza places in town.
posted by octothorpe at 11:41 AM on April 10, 2016
I guess it depends on where you grew up. The August Tea Room was my family's standard Friday night out when I was a kid in the seventies. It was no more exotic than the Greek diners or pizza places in town.
posted by octothorpe at 11:41 AM on April 10, 2016
The only "funny" restaurant name I've seen is El Buen Rollito, which means a) "Good spring roll" and b) "Good Vibes". I've never eaten there, sadly.
posted by sukeban at 11:41 AM on April 10, 2016
posted by sukeban at 11:41 AM on April 10, 2016
Speaking as an American in the UK long-term...I know it's not authentic. I know it's bad for me.
But as General Tso is my witness, I will give a million dollars, one of my kidneys, and the soul of my firstborn child to whoever introduces sesame chicken to the local Chinese restaurant menus.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:52 AM on April 10, 2016 [6 favorites]
But as General Tso is my witness, I will give a million dollars, one of my kidneys, and the soul of my firstborn child to whoever introduces sesame chicken to the local Chinese restaurant menus.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:52 AM on April 10, 2016 [6 favorites]
So of course there's no shortage of americanized Chinese places around here but there's also this one place...
Imagine a very large dining room with virtually no decoration, maybe 200 four-tops. You order at a counter where the menu consists of several large dry erase boards in Chinese and a single, smaller dry erase board in English with the usual americanized fare. The place is incredibly loud and very little English is being spoken. The staff uses a bullhorn to call ready order numbers.
I've never been to China but that place feels like what I imagine an actual Chinese restaurant in China is like.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 11:55 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Imagine a very large dining room with virtually no decoration, maybe 200 four-tops. You order at a counter where the menu consists of several large dry erase boards in Chinese and a single, smaller dry erase board in English with the usual americanized fare. The place is incredibly loud and very little English is being spoken. The staff uses a bullhorn to call ready order numbers.
I've never been to China but that place feels like what I imagine an actual Chinese restaurant in China is like.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 11:55 AM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
This reminds me of the 'non-denominational church name word jumble' my wife and I play on long drives.
posted by charred husk at 12:22 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by charred husk at 12:22 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
My favorites are the "Fifth Baptist Churches" I have seen sometimes in Texas. It's like, isn't only First worth bragging rights? And why are there now five? Schism? Crowd overflow? TELL ME!
posted by hippybear at 12:23 PM on April 10, 2016
posted by hippybear at 12:23 PM on April 10, 2016
Somewhere I have a picture of a New York City restaurant named New Big Wang. Will try to find.
For 87 years, Portland had "Hung Far Low" in the heart of Chinatown and later out on 82nd Ave, though it was better known as a place for underage kids to get served alcohol than for its food.
The sign has been restored as a landmark and lives on. Apparently the name means "almond blossom fragrance" in the Taishanese dialect formerly popular among Chinese immigrants in the U.S.
posted by msalt at 12:42 PM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
For 87 years, Portland had "Hung Far Low" in the heart of Chinatown and later out on 82nd Ave, though it was better known as a place for underage kids to get served alcohol than for its food.
The sign has been restored as a landmark and lives on. Apparently the name means "almond blossom fragrance" in the Taishanese dialect formerly popular among Chinese immigrants in the U.S.
posted by msalt at 12:42 PM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
In DC Chinese takeout counters make the best fried chicken.
This is probably universal. They have chicken, they have fryers, and they know how to use both very well. That's one of my 'calibration' foods. If they can't do that right ( and dumplings ) odds are they're going to screw up a lot of other things.
posted by mikelieman at 12:42 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
This is probably universal. They have chicken, they have fryers, and they know how to use both very well. That's one of my 'calibration' foods. If they can't do that right ( and dumplings ) odds are they're going to screw up a lot of other things.
posted by mikelieman at 12:42 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
My favorite English-speakers-experimenting-on-the-Chinese-language-menu anecdote remains Bill Gosper's Sweet-and-Sour Bitter Melon story.
I don't know about the sweet and sour sauce, but bitter melon (or kugua, 苦瓜) seems pretty common in China itself. (I had it in Guangzhou.) It was kind of chemical-tasting and definitely numbed my tongue, like sometimes when you chew the stringy part of celery, but 10,000 times stronger. The story in that book might be exaggerating a bit though, or perhaps the owner prepared it in some way to teach the smartasses a lesson.
My understanding is that bitter melon is considered a very cooling (yin) food appropriate for the summer, as opposed to say dog meat which is very yang and would be ridiculous to eat in July.
posted by msalt at 12:58 PM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I don't know about the sweet and sour sauce, but bitter melon (or kugua, 苦瓜) seems pretty common in China itself. (I had it in Guangzhou.) It was kind of chemical-tasting and definitely numbed my tongue, like sometimes when you chew the stringy part of celery, but 10,000 times stronger. The story in that book might be exaggerating a bit though, or perhaps the owner prepared it in some way to teach the smartasses a lesson.
My understanding is that bitter melon is considered a very cooling (yin) food appropriate for the summer, as opposed to say dog meat which is very yang and would be ridiculous to eat in July.
posted by msalt at 12:58 PM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
My favorites are the "Fifth Baptist Churches" I have seen sometimes in Texas.
bootleggers have to go to church somewhere
posted by pyramid termite at 1:44 PM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
bootleggers have to go to church somewhere
posted by pyramid termite at 1:44 PM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Had a bit of fun with this by modding Dot-o-mator's name code. Result: Chinese Restaurant Name Generator. :)
posted by kira at 2:06 PM on April 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by kira at 2:06 PM on April 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
This sounds like a good thing:
"there are more Chinese restaurants in the United States than McDonald's, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Wendy's—combined."
posted by doctornemo at 3:47 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
"there are more Chinese restaurants in the United States than McDonald's, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Wendy's—combined."
posted by doctornemo at 3:47 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh man, I would jump for joy if I found Shanghai-style steam-fried xiaolongbao during a trip to America. They're hard enough to find in Japan, and that's right next door. (Speaking of foreign versions of foods coming back, there's at least one place in Osaka that serves American-style sushi, and Kobe's Chinatown has at least one grocery store that now sells fortune cookies)
You guys should absolutely also check out that 99 Percent Invisible episode about Chinatown architecture, because it's fascinating in the same sort of way as Jennifer 8 Lee's Hunt for General Tso is (and that's also a must-watch on Netflix).
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:51 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
You guys should absolutely also check out that 99 Percent Invisible episode about Chinatown architecture, because it's fascinating in the same sort of way as Jennifer 8 Lee's Hunt for General Tso is (and that's also a must-watch on Netflix).
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:51 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
There was a chinese buffet in pittsburgh that had your standard fare, but also had things like chicken feet and wood ear mushrooms and a few other "authentic" Chinese dishes. They also had a rule where if you left food on your plate you would be charged extra (really just if you were wasting a ton, they didn't care if you tried something but didn't like it)
posted by Ferreous at 4:32 PM on April 10, 2016
posted by Ferreous at 4:32 PM on April 10, 2016
Oh man, I would jump for joy if I found Shanghai-style steam-fried xiaolongbao during a trip to America.
Come to San Francisco. We'll hook you up.
posted by zachlipton at 4:45 PM on April 10, 2016
Come to San Francisco. We'll hook you up.
posted by zachlipton at 4:45 PM on April 10, 2016
Unless you’re smack in the middle of that Chinese food desert running from North Dakota to West Texas
What's up with that, I wonder?
It's an artifact of how they analyze data and the way counties are divided. Starting from North Dakota and heading to the east, states are divided up into many small counties. From Montana to the west, states are divided up into a few large counties. One county in Arizona might include a city like Tucson and thousands of miles of sparsely-inhabited desert. The same area in North Dakota might be divided up into 10 counties, so it would look like one small shaded patch and nine unshaded. If counties were divided to be roughly the same size, the Chinese restaurant drought would extend from North Dakota to the western edge of the Pacific states.
posted by TungstenChef at 5:02 PM on April 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
What's up with that, I wonder?
It's an artifact of how they analyze data and the way counties are divided. Starting from North Dakota and heading to the east, states are divided up into many small counties. From Montana to the west, states are divided up into a few large counties. One county in Arizona might include a city like Tucson and thousands of miles of sparsely-inhabited desert. The same area in North Dakota might be divided up into 10 counties, so it would look like one small shaded patch and nine unshaded. If counties were divided to be roughly the same size, the Chinese restaurant drought would extend from North Dakota to the western edge of the Pacific states.
posted by TungstenChef at 5:02 PM on April 10, 2016 [4 favorites]
So if you ever wanted to make General Tso's chicken at home (and you should! So you can pick better vegetables to serve it with)
posted by The Whelk at 5:06 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 5:06 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
The 7-11 in Hong Kong used to sell "Chinese Beef Burritos." They were as bad as you'd guess, but how could I resist trying one?
posted by msalt at 5:43 PM on April 10, 2016
posted by msalt at 5:43 PM on April 10, 2016
I have never understood the whole batter and deep-fry a thing (General Tso's, sweet and sour pork etc) then let it sit in syrupy sauce so that the fried coating soaks up the sauce and becomes a gooey slime coat. I like battered and fried things and I like sauces, but I have to have control as to how they meet. If the meat is going to arrive in swimming in sauce it needs to be naked.
That said, next pay check I think I might need to drive the two and a half hours to the closest Chinese (Canadian) place to me. I'll check and see if General Tso's is on the menu in Whitehorse, Yukon.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 7:42 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
That said, next pay check I think I might need to drive the two and a half hours to the closest Chinese (Canadian) place to me. I'll check and see if General Tso's is on the menu in Whitehorse, Yukon.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 7:42 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
The best Sesame Chicken I ever had was from a food truck on the Drexel University campus around 2000-2002. It used lightly applied but highly concentrated sauced dribbled on top of what was basically just fried chicken pieces on fried rice. Conserved the crisp, kept the flavor from the sauce.
I also had the best hoagies ever made from a nearby truck at that time. I wish the classes worked out as well for me as the food trucks did. :)
posted by Drinky Die at 7:46 PM on April 10, 2016
I also had the best hoagies ever made from a nearby truck at that time. I wish the classes worked out as well for me as the food trucks did. :)
posted by Drinky Die at 7:46 PM on April 10, 2016
So if you ever wanted to make General Tso's chicken at home (and you should! So you can pick better vegetables to serve it with)
Less fraught then attempting the Colonel's Original Recipe .
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:25 PM on April 10, 2016
Less fraught then attempting the Colonel's Original Recipe .
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:25 PM on April 10, 2016
Through the miracle of the internet I did a comparison of menus of Canadian Chinese restaurants in Whitehorse, YT. No General. Everything else was basically the same as the general US menu except one place had something called beef tomato!
Naming convention in line. One garden, one dragon, one lucky.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 10:12 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Naming convention in line. One garden, one dragon, one lucky.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 10:12 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
If the meat is going to arrive in swimming in sauce it needs to be naked.
Are you hitting on me?
The weird thing, regardless of what the map says, is how hard it is to find Chinese food in L.A. There’s a Thai restaurant on every corner, which I thought odd 25 years ago but they’re more common everywhere now. Thai and donut shops have to be the most common thing in the city. (I know there are plenty of Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel valley, but it’s hardly next door)
posted by bongo_x at 10:59 PM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Are you hitting on me?
The weird thing, regardless of what the map says, is how hard it is to find Chinese food in L.A. There’s a Thai restaurant on every corner, which I thought odd 25 years ago but they’re more common everywhere now. Thai and donut shops have to be the most common thing in the city. (I know there are plenty of Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel valley, but it’s hardly next door)
posted by bongo_x at 10:59 PM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Anyone wondering about any of the questions raised in this thread should read the excellent The Fortune Cookie Chronicles that Shmuel510 recommends above. It was the basis for the The Search for General Tso documentary others recommended (the author, Jennifer 8. Lee, produced the documentary.
And what an awesome name, "Jennifer 8. Lee"!
At first I suspected an OCR mistake, but according to her Wikipedia entry, her parents couldn't afford a middle name when she was born, so she got one herself when she was a teen.
I really gotta check out her book...
posted by sour cream at 2:14 AM on April 11, 2016
And what an awesome name, "Jennifer 8. Lee"!
At first I suspected an OCR mistake, but according to her Wikipedia entry, her parents couldn't afford a middle name when she was born, so she got one herself when she was a teen.
I really gotta check out her book...
posted by sour cream at 2:14 AM on April 11, 2016
Chinese Indonesian cuisine in the Netherlands.
posted by Pendragon at 3:11 AM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Pendragon at 3:11 AM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thanks, Pendragon. Eating African chicken at a Portugese restaurant in Macao (now paret of China) was a highlight of my life, too.
posted by msalt at 2:28 PM on April 12, 2016
posted by msalt at 2:28 PM on April 12, 2016
For non-Americanized Chinese dishes, or at least less common Americanized dishes, I see mapo tofu ("Granny's Spicy Beancurd") more and more. Warning to vegetarians and non-swine eaters though -- in Sichuan, this always includes ground pork, so check if that's a problem for you.
In San Francisco, I had a great "Smoked Tea Duck" in Chinatown. The astringency of the tea cuts down on duck's natural greasiness. No idea if that exists outside the one restaurant though.
posted by msalt at 2:32 PM on April 12, 2016
In San Francisco, I had a great "Smoked Tea Duck" in Chinatown. The astringency of the tea cuts down on duck's natural greasiness. No idea if that exists outside the one restaurant though.
posted by msalt at 2:32 PM on April 12, 2016
kira: "Had a bit of fun with this by modding Dot-o-mator's name code. Result: Chinese Restaurant Name Generator. :"
It really does create names that are obviously Chinese restaurants, which makes me want to try and find the least Chinese restaurant sounding name using those words. Little Red Inn? Grand Gourmet Bistro? BBQ City Bar & Grill?
posted by team lowkey at 3:13 PM on April 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
It really does create names that are obviously Chinese restaurants, which makes me want to try and find the least Chinese restaurant sounding name using those words. Little Red Inn? Grand Gourmet Bistro? BBQ City Bar & Grill?
posted by team lowkey at 3:13 PM on April 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
There used to be a Thai restaurant near me called "Garlic Bistro."
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:08 AM on April 13, 2016
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:08 AM on April 13, 2016
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posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:56 AM on April 10, 2016